YMCA Youth in Government is a youth-led, experiential learning opportunity that involves 1,800 middle school and high school students each year.  The Duluth Area Family YMCA Delegation is still accepting participants. 

Youth in Government is a YMCA program for 8th-12th grade students.  Bi-monthly meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of the month at the Duluth Area Family YMCA.  Meetings include team and community building activities to initiate new friendships and enhance communication and leadership skills. Members of the community are often asked to come and speak to the group about local issues and their careers as associated with government.  Meetings are influenced by student passions
and molded to include their interests. Participants also prepare for Model Assembly.

Model Assembly is a four day conference at the Minneapolis Hilton and State Capital buildings in January. Students from YIG programs across Minnesota come together to create and maintain their own state government by taking on roles of attorneys, legislators, lobbyists, media personnel, and others.  With responsible citizenship being the main goal of Model Assembly, the youth leave this conference with so much more.  Leadership and critical thinking skills are developed and sharpened and the youth have a much greater knowledge of how government functions and works within the state of Minnesota.  Students also learn a great deal about themselves- their character, interests, abilities and what it means to be a citizen in a democracy.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., at the Generation Center in the Duluth Area Family YMCA.  Registration for the program ends on Friday, Oct. 21. To learn more about the Duluth Area Family YMCA’s Youth in Government program please contact Courtney Schmidt at cschmidt @ duluthymca.org or 218-722-4745 x 121 or Cheryl Skafte at cskafte @ duluthymca.org or 218-722-4745 x 111.